Letter To You
| Bruce Springsteen
Letter To You
Letter to You is the twentieth studio album from Bruce Springsteen; it marks his first new studio album with his regular backing band the E Street Band since 2014's High Hopes. The release has been met with widespread critical acclaim by critics, particularly with the album's ability to face mortality and aging in a profound manner and was a commercial success, topping several international sales charts. In lieu of touring, the release was promoted with an online radio station, music videos, and a custom Twitter emoji. -Wikipedia
Critic Reviews
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The Guardian
Letter to You is not an album to snare new listeners, compounded by the fact that it contains a lot of good songs but no spectacular breakout hit.
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CNN
'Bruce Springsteen's Letter to You' is a valentine to his fans and the E Street Band.
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Ultimate Classic Rock
On Letter to You, his 20th album, Springsteen confronts mortality, talks with ghosts and pulls out three cuts from his early-'70s songbook he never got around to releasing before. There's no getting around it: The past lurks behind every note. But, ironically, he hasn't sounded this alive and in-the-moment in years.
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Esquire
But the best moments on Letter to You show that the Boss still has plenty of gas in the tank, and he shouldn’t forget that, settling into his eighth decade, it ain’t no sin to be glad you’re still alive.
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Pitchfork
Surrounded by people who have been along for the journey, “Letter to You” is another heartfelt tribute to those ties that bind.
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NME
a powerful synthesis of past and present.
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Stereogum
There’s a reason Letter To You begins unlike any other E Street album, and a reason it registers unlike any other E Street album. In half a century, it’s never felt like the letter might be the last — at least in this form, with these people together. It never quite felt like the letter was saying goodbye.
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Music AV Club
Letter To You is one of the finest achievements of Bruce Springsteen’s career.
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Los Angeles Times
Each recording session ends with a toast, the E Streeters honoring their music, their friendship and those who have passed on. Watching them savor these moments is to bear witness to a kind of holy communion.
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The Washington Post
“Letter to You,” with all of its morally economical anthems in similar major-chord progressions, growly we-gotta-get-out-of-here pieties, sweepingly uplifting promises, and paeans to the pure pursuit of pressing on, is classic Brucian fare meant to underscore his famously superhuman stamina, both thematically and in the flesh.
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The Times
This album made in less than a week is one of his best yet.
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AP News
Although his fitness, spirit and the actuarial tables would suggest he has plenty of music left in him, it’s hard to miss the valedictory feel and sense of loss that pervades this new album.
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Cryptic Rock
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band have once again put together an album for the ages. There unity is real and evident in the recording. Highlighted by Springsteen’s voice that is as sincere as ever, and human lyrical content, Letter to You will stand the test of time.
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The Young Folks
As usual, the whole thing’s undeniably The Boss’s show, despite his unmistakeable affection for all of his long-running bandmates, and his personality is what makes the album engaging for 58 minutes.
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Pov Magazine
Letter to You sits comfortably within the nostalgia factory of music docs targeted for audiences of Springsteen’s generation who rocked out to “Born to Run” and “Dancing in the Dark” when they first hit the airwaves. With new songs like “Last Man Standing” and “I’ll See You in My Dreams” holding up to the best of the Boss’s work, the doc rocks as an essay on accepting one’s mortality while living each day to the fullest. If it’s a last hurrah, it’s high endnote.
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The Digital Fix
The lid is lifted on Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band as they craft their latest album, and we find no conflict, just old friends making fantastic music and it's a joy to watch.
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The Independent
A reflective Springsteen reunites with E Street Band for his 20th album – and it’s a worthy addition to his canon.
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Evening Standard
Everything you could want from the Boss.
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Den of Geek
Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band deliver a powerful and poignant Letter to You, but it’s not a swan song.
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Bernard Zuel
Letter To You just about holds in its soulful rock intensity but doesn’t hide its vulnerability, feeling earthy and sinewy but not too muscular. There’s an emotional core here that connects to Darkness On The Edge Of Town’s ripping back of the things we use to hide.
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3 Songs & Out
“Letter To You” is the sound of one of the greatest bands in the world backing one of the finest songwriters to grace the graft. It sounds full and vibrant but has the ability to stun you when it’s needed. It is reflective without being mournful, celebratory without being disrespectful.
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GSGM
For me, Bruce has not sounded this good for quite some time. Yes, his previous tracks were on form, but this one keeps him at the forefront of rock with a quality which is challenging to resist. Top work, Bruce!
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Louder Than War
Bruce Springsteen reunites with the E Street Band to make an album that stands up with the greatest music he’s made in a career lasting almost 50 years.
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TN2 Magazine
A mature and profound, but ultimately upbeat meditation on life and mortality, Letter to You is a great Bruce Springsteen record.
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No Ripcord
this is one of Springsteen’s most genuinely energetic and exciting releases in ages.
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Stack
In a world gone crazy, the classic sound of the E Street Band is reassuring and comforting. “So, wake and shake off your troubles, my friend,” Springsteen invites the listener. “We’ll go where the music never ends.” They don’t make ’em like this anymore.
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Remo News
The future has never been more uncertain; the past has never seemed further away. But as long as the band plays, the dream is alive.
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The 13th Floor
Bruce and his buddies could have easily cruised through lockdown and rested. Instead they felt the need to speak up and make this crazy world a little bit better. That’s why I love rock & roll (in all its forms) and why I love this record.
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Paste Magazine
Singer’s latest album ranks among his best, most collaborative work.
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Louder Sound
Fast and live, the The Boss and the E Street Band rescue lost tunes and toast lost brothers on Letter To You.
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All Music
This shared warmth carries Letter to You through the moments where the younger Bruce is perhaps a bit too precious and the older Springsteen is a bit too clear, turning a record that's a meditation on mortality into a celebration of what it means to be alive in the moment.
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Forge Today
In this sense, the album will appeal more to Springsteen’s fans rather than attracting many new followers. But that’s OK. Letter to You may not be innovative, but it is still a brilliant reminder of the quality of Bruce Springsteen’s signature sound.
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Six Shooter Country
The Boss delivers once again and we’ve never needed him more!
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Slant Magazine
The album has all the familiar hallmarks of the E Street Band’s signature sound.
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The Irish Times
The album is bookended by companion pieces, One Minute You’re Here and I’ll See You in My Dreams, aptly riffing on the mysteries of life and death. Letter to You directly engages with that last big question. Expect more – we’re in that space now.
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Gigwise
The Boss looks inward on his brilliant and vulnerable new record.
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Beats Per Minute
Letter To You may well Springsteen’s best work since 87’s Tunnel of Love. There are dips in quality in places on the record, but there is a general tone of a satisfied human who got out of the rundown places he always sang about to that bright future that was always over the horizon.
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The Line of Best Fit
Letter To You is classic Springsteen, with a few tricks up his sleeve.
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XS Noize
Whilst much of Letter To You focuses on sadness, trials and the brutality that life can inflict on people who don’t deserve such suffering. The inspiration given to Bruce to write this LP in a way he had not visited in years stemmed from one act of kindness when one night after Bruce had performed in his Springsteen on Broadway show, a fan gave Bruce a “comfortable”, well-suited guitar to keep.
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Stereoboard
But should this be his last record with the E-Street Band then, by way of the timeless warmth, reflective sentiments and sheer joy they exude, these 12 tracks provide an emotionally powerful full stop to a worthwhile story wonderfully told.
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musicOMH
Letter To You provides both a moving thematic adjunct to Springsteen On Broadway and a timely and welcome burst of the sheer euphoria that only the E Street Band can inject.
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The Student Playlist
Featuring key members of the E Street Band live in the studio with minimal post-production, ‘Letter To You’ is as energetic as Bruce Springsteen has ever sounded.
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Maximum Volume Music
It is Springsteen’s 20th studio album in an almost 50 year career. Where it stands in the pantheon, history will judge, what I’ll say for certain though, is that it is incredible how fresh it all sounds, Maybe the ghosts of rock n roll are the elixir for eternal youth.
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Commedia
It is safe to say, Springsteen is still in the game. Even though he is growing older, Springsteen still has some magic up his sleeve. “Letter To You” is total proof of that.
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Sputnik Music
at the very least it’s a thoughtful, hard-rockin’ album that could very well be The Boss’s best since his immortal run of classics in the 70s and 80s. Will Springsteen’s next Letter find us in a better place? Only time will tell.
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The Telegraph
passionate, brilliant, and unashamedly old-fashioned.
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